Technical Abstract:
The source of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) isolated from diagnostic samples is often in doubt so we have investigated the suitability of restriction enzyme analysis for differentiating strain RespPRRS from field strains of PRRSV. Based on the ORF 5 sequence of RespPRRS/VR 2332 and the other 22 strains of PRRSV included in this study, we hypothesize that 4 restriction enzyme gel patterns characterize the RespPRRS vaccine virus genotype with high assurance. This differential test will be a valuable tool in PRRS epidemiological studies and will be useful in identifying individual strains in cases of multi-strain PRRSV infections.